YouCam Makeup gives beauty brands free AR sampling tech

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Brief:

Perfect, the developer of the augmented reality (AR) beauty app YouCam Makeup, is offering cosmetics brands free AR experiences, web subscriptions and product listings as the coronavirus pandemic leads people to shop online while they're stuck indoors. Brands can list as many as 100 products through July 31, subject to extension, as part of the complimentary program, per an announcement.

Perfect also is offering brands a free subscription to YouCam for Web, a browser plug-in that helps brands integrate virtual makeup try-ons into their websites, through the end of July. The company is temporarily waiving the license fee for YouCam A.R.T., its AR platform for live training sessions with employees, and has set up a web page for brands interested in applying for the free services.

YouCam Makeup is providing interactive experiences for mobile consumers. Users can seek on-demand beauty consultations from the app's Beauty Advisor 1-on-1 service that includes a video chat with a professional makeup artist, along with virtual product and style try-ons. The app is livestreaming beauty shows with tutorials from YouCam influencers, letting users respond with likes and comments, collaborate with other people and virtually sample the looks demonstrated in the shows, per a separate announcement.

Insight:

Perfect's free services for cosmetics brands comes as beauty companies like L'Oreal report sales declines or suspend guidance for the year because of uncertainties around the coronavirus pandemic. With the widespread closure of many "non-essential" brick-and-mortar stores, beauty brands are more dependent on supermarkets and drugstores that remain open, and on e-commerce sites like Amazon. Still, online results are mixed with U.S. sales of color cosmetics slipping 1% this month from February, while skin care sales have grown 8% on Amazon, per Statista data.

As millions of consumers shop from home, Perfect has an opportunity to showcase its technology to a wider group of brands that want to connect with shoppers outside of a brick-and-mortar setting. Perfect has developed AR and artificial intelligence (AI) tech that lets shoppers virtually sample cosmetics and hair coloring before buying, while providing entertainment and community for beauty enthusiasts who want to experiment with new looks and share on social channels. Most recently, Perfect collaborated with on-demand beauty service provider PRIV to feature its Runway Trends Collection in an interactive Fashion Week beauty showcase.

By providing free interactive experience for mobile users, Perfect aims to engage existing consumers and reach new ones. The company, whose apps have been downloaded more than 800 million times, runs a variety of promotions throughout the year to maintain user engagement with its immersive AR experiences. During the holiday season, its YouCam Perfect photo editor app hosted an online challenge to promote its collection of holiday-themed digital images to decorate selfies. The company in October ran a similar contest with Halloween looks to share on social media as users tested makeup styles and prepared their costumes.